Former FEMA director to Congress: ‘Give it back its independent agency status,’ direct access to president

Former FEMA director to Congress: ‘Give it back its independent agency status,’ direct access to president

Former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Michael Brown said that Congress should give the disaster relief agency back its “independent agency status,” allowing it direct access to the president which would, in his view, improve its overall operation.

“The smartest thing they could do is to pull FEMA out, give it back its independent agency status, and give the director direct access to the president. If you don’t have direct access to the president, like I had, it’s not going to work,” Brown, who served as the FEMA chief from 2003 to 2005 under former President Bush, said during his Thursday appearance on NewsNation’s show “The Hill.”